Central Districts fall off the top of the table

Canterbury 214 for 3 (Fulton 85*, Astle 65) beat Central Districts 213 (How 55, Sinclair 50, Cunis 4-38) by 7 wickets
Scorecard

Central Districts lost their hold on the lead of the State Shield when Canterbury beat them by seven wickets. Central Districts struggled to 213 after choosing to bat. Stephen Cunis was the destroyer-in-chief for Canterbury, taking 4 for 38 in 10 overs. Canterbury started poorly in reply, losing Michael Papps for 12, but then Nathan Astle and Peter Fulton put on 117. Astle continued his good form of recent weeks to score 65 off 100 balls while Fulton saw Canterbury home with a bonus point with 85 off 88 balls.

Northern Districts 187 for 2 (Horsley 77, Evans 58*) beat Otago 183 for 7 (McCullum 52*) by 8 wickets
Scorecard

Northern Districts leapt to the top of the State Shield table with their bonus-point victory over Otago at the Harry Barker Reserve in Gisborne. Otago decided to bat first but struggled to make an impact, and ended with 183 for 7. Nathan McCullum starred with the bat with an unbeaten 52, which included six fours and a six off only 39 balls. Joseph Yovich bowled five overs for only nine runs, while Scott Styris had only 18 runs taken from his 10 overs, during which he took two wickets. The reliable Graeme Aldridge chipped in with 2 for 26 from his eight overs. James Marshall fell to Wilson's bowling for 7, but a second-wicket stand of 98 between Nick Horsley, who scored 77 off 90 balls, and Alun Evans, with 58 off 103, set up the win in emphatic fashion. After Horsley fell, Styris joined Evans and they added the remaining 65 runs to ensure the win.

Wellington 208 (Woodcock 42) beat Auckland 201 for 8 (Mills 55) by 7 runs
Scorecard

Wellington posted a competitive total of 208 and held Auckland at bay, eventually winning by just seven runs. Luke Woodcock top-scored with 42 after Stephen Fleming and Neal Parlane battled their way to 23. Mayu Pasupati provided a late boost with 32 off 36 balls. Auckland started disastrously, losing two wickets for 12 runs. Something of a recovery was launched midway through the innings when Tama Canning and Kyle Mills stopped the downward spiral, putting on 71 for the sixth wicket before Canning was bowled by Luke Woodcock for 31. Another 46 were added for the seventh wicket before Mills was caught for 55 off the bowling of Jayesh Patel. Patel bowled the last over, when 12 were required, but the batsmen could not get him away.